153 Palestinians in hospital after Jerusalem holy site clash

Israeli police firing tear gas stun grenades and rubbercoated bullets clashed with Palestinian stonethrowers at a flashpoint Jerusalem holy site on Monday the latest in a series of confrontations that is pushing the contested city to the brink of eruptionMore than a dozen tear gas canisters and stun grenades landed in the AlAqsa mosque Islams third holiest site said an Associated Press photographer at the sceneAt least 215 Palestinians were hurt in the violence at the AlAqsa Mosque compound including 153 who were hospitalised Palestinian medics said Four of the injured were in serious condition Police said nine officers were hurt including one who was hospitalisedMondays confrontation was the latest in the sacred compound after days of mounting tensions between Palestinians and Israeli troops in the Old City of Jerusalem the emotional ground zero of the conflict Hundreds of Palestinians and about two dozen police officers have been hurt over the past few daysThe site known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary is also considered the holiest site in Judaism The compound has been the trigger for rounds of IsraelPalestinian violence in the pastIn the early morning hours protesters barricaded gates to the walled compound with wooden boards and scrap metal Sometime after 700 am clashes erupted with those inside the compound throwing stones at police deployed outside Police entered the compound firing tear gas and stun grenadesAt some point about 400 people both young protesters and older worshippers were inside the carpeted AlAqsa Mosque Police fired tear gas and stun grenades into the mosquePolice said protesters hurled stones at officers and onto an adjoining roadway near the Western Wall where thousands of Israeli Jews had gathered to prayIsrael has come under growing international criticism for its heavyhanded actions at the site particularly during the Muslim holy month of RamadanOfir Gendelman a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed in a tweet that ldquoextremist Palestinians planned well in advance to carry out riotsrdquo at the holy site He attached photos from the compound showing piles of stones and wooden boards suggesting this was part of the protesters preparations for a confrontation He said that Israel guarantees freedom of worship but ldquonot the freedom to riot and attack innocent peoplerdquoIn another violent incident Palestinian protesters hurled rocks at an Israeli vehicle driving just outside the Old City walls The driver appeared to lose control and slammed into bystander Police said in a statement that two passengers were injuredEarlier police barred Jews from visiting the site on Monday which Israelis mark as Jerusalem Day with a flagwaving parade through the Old City and its Muslim Quarter to the Western Wall the holiest site where Jews can pray The marchers celebrate Israels capture of east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast warIn that conflict Israel also captured the West Bank and Gaza Strip It later annexed east Jerusalem home to the citys most sensitive holy sites and considers the entire city its capital The Palestinians seek all three areas for a future state with east Jerusalem as their capitalThe police decision to ban Jewish visitors temporarily from the holy site came hours before the start of the Jerusalem Day march which is widely perceived by Palestinians as a provocative display of Jewish hegemony over the contested cityPolice have allowed the parade to take place despite growing concerns that it could further inflame the tensionThis year the march coincides with Ramadan a time of heightened religious sensitivities and follows weeks of clashes between Israeli police and Palestinians in JerusalemViolence has occurred almost nightly throughout Ramadan beginning when Israel blocked off a popular spot where Muslims traditionally gather each night at the end of their daylong fast Israel later removed the restrictions but clashes quickly resumed amid tensions over the eviction plan in Sheikh Jarrah an Arab neighbourhood where settlers have waged a lengthy legal battle to take over propertiesIsraels Supreme Court postponed a key ruling Monday that could have led to the evictions of dozens of Palestinians from their homes citing the ldquocircumstancesrdquoThe Israeli crackdown and planned evictions have drawn harsh condemnations from Israels Arab allies and expressions of concern from the US European Union and United NationsThe UN Security Council scheduled closed consultations Monday on the soaring tensions in Jerusalem Diplomats said the meeting was requested by Tunisia the Arab representative on the councilLate Sunday the US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan spoke to his Israeli counterpart Meir BenShabbat and urged calmA White House statement said that Sullivan called on Israel to to ldquopursue appropriate measures to ensure calmrdquo and expressed the US ldquoserious concernsrdquo about the ongoing violence and planned evictionsThe tensions in Jerusalem have threatened to reverberate throughout the regionPalestinian militants in the Gaza Strip have fired several barrages of rockets into Israel and protesters allied with the ruling Hamas militant group have launched dozens of incendiary balloons into Israel setting off fires across the southern part of the countryThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever